Giving up this forum for Lent.

[Black_Rose]

I will proscribe personal access to RevLeft for Lent, with the exception of viewing this thread and limiting myself to one reply per day (in my timezone) with a minimum of 12 hours per new posts.

I will attend Mass tomorrow and limit myself to one meal.

As for me, my heart is currently warm as it yens to submit and yield to God with faith and humility, yet my intellect is cold since it finds little reliable empirical evidence to believe in God. My heart feels appreciative for Christ's kurushimi (suffering) and itami (pain), hears Him* calling to me, and wants to participate in the sacraments. Yet I currently not an orthodox Catholic (or Christian) since I do not believe (with my intellect) in the dogma such as the Resurrection, transubstantiation, Immaculate Conception, and Assumption. Nonetheless, if I do convert, it will be a slow process (for instance it took me about two years to become an M-L), and I feel it is necessary to demonstrate my sincerity and solemness to God through humility and austerity



* I am in a reverent mood today, so I will capitalize the personal pronoun of a hypostasis (person) of the Judeo-Christian deity.

My signature has nothing to do with my current religiosity; it is my favorite Bible verse, even before my current flirtation with Roman Catholicism.

[Stalin Ate My Homework]

Whilst I have no problem with religious believers (I was raised a Catholic) I think that some other members will give you abuse from this post, just saying.

[Black_Rose]

I initially wrote this in January 2010 but I appended some material to it this year and today. I think it shows my theological thinking.

Since I am limited to one meal in the next twenty-four hours, I am going to eat a meal of a sweetened vanilla greek yogurt, peanut butter, and cocoa (about 550 kcal). Hopefully the fructose in the sucrose will replete my hepatic glycogen to minimize gluconeogenesis tomorrow, so my skeletal muscle would not be catabolized for carbon skeletons for gluconeogenesis, and the fat from the peanut butter stimulating satiety.


In the declining years of the Roman Empire, Augustine of Hippo wrote The City of God (De Civitate Dei) after the Sack of Rome by the Visigoths, led by Alaric, in 410 focusing on the triumph of the eternal City of God over the transient, decaying City of Man. These cities can be interpreted as an allegory from the perspective of Augustine’s audience where the City of Man is the contemporary, mundane, political realm of the Roman Empire despite Christianity being the State’s official religion while the City of God is Heaven-- the New Jerusalem. Augustine was sanguine and optimistic despite being surrounded by a backdrop of decay and decadence because the fall of the City of Man heralded the triumph of the permanent, everlasting City of God. In each City, its inhabitants are united by a common love much like people in contemporary nation-states tend to share a common culture, ethnicity, language, and place of birth (Book XIX; Chapter 24). Those in City of Man are united by a common love of self as they seek exultation of self instead of exultation of God (Book XIV; Chapter 28). The people of the City of God, the Christian ecclesia, share a love for God often at the contempt of self, and pledge their primary allegiance not to an earthly sovereign but to Christ the King.

Augustine’s exegesis shows an unequivocal condemnation of pride highlighting its profoundly destructive consequence while effectively wielding biblical stories as pedagogical tools for Christian edification. For example, he attributes the Fall of Man from the Original Sin of Adam and Eve to the consequences of their pride (Book XIV: Chapters 10-14); since nature, God’s creation, was good, God does not have any culpability for the Fall, even though he knew, through foreknowledge, that they would sin, since it was the result of their corrupted will as the real sin was not the consumption of the fruit, but the desire to be disobedient. Their obedience of God's commandant not to eat the fruit was motivated not by a desire to follow God out of faithful love and submission, but the fear of punishment. Their endogenous aspiration to transgress, as opposed to an exogenous temptation or circumstance, was the necessary condition and ultimate cause of the Fall; the Serpent’s words merely precipitated the transgression into coaxing them to consume the fruit by falsely reassuring them that would not suffer adverse consequences if they eat the fruit. In other words, the Serpent removed the only inhibitory constraint, the fear of punishment, from Adam and Eve. Thus, Adam and Eve cannot be considered the credulous victims of the Serpent’s perfidy and chicanery, since, in the quietude and abundance of the Garden, they experienced no other temptations, labor, or adversity that would induce them to sin.

To further delineate the consequences of pride the story of Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve’s progeny, is compared to Remus and Romulus (Bk XV; Ch 5) who in mythology founded Rome. Cain’s act of fratricide was the outcome of his jealousy of Abel whom God favored by accepting his sacrifice while God rejected Cain’s offering. Romulus killed Remus because he loathed sharing the glory of founding the Roman Republic and Eternal City hence the name Rome. Because of the pride of its inhabitants, the City of Man is characterized by perpetual internecine strife due to their conflicting self-serving ambitions (Bk XV; Chapter 4). The unrighteous in the City of Man, inebriated with pride and intoxicated with sins of disobedience and debauchery, are on the path of destruction destined for perdition.

But in this age of modernity, how is one supposed to be optimistic with both the fall of the City of Man and the City of God? My previous ruminations project a tone of despondency, frustration, hopelessness, and despair reflecting the absence of a realistic, optimistic faith in either the spiritual or material realms. Instead of facing invading barbarian tribes, the City of Man is under siege by the law of diminishing returns, technological stagnation, and an entropic universe.

I am reminded of my own mortality and the ephemeral nature of the universe when I gaze at the celestial firmament at night, knowing that the incandescent vibrancy of the night would eventually be displaced by a terminal state of tenebrous barrenness, populated predominantly by feeble red dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. For instance, the final phase for stars around one solar mass is a doddering white dwarf: an inert, dense sphere of carbon and oxygen that is prevented from further gravitational collapse (and the nucleosynthesis of the carbon and oxygen into higher elements) due to electron degeneracy pressure, as the further compression of matter is precluded by the Pauli Exclusion Principle, preventing two electrons from occupying a quantum state simultaneously. The white dwarf had most of its mass ablated due to stellar winds during its red giant phase. Since the white dwarf encompasses a volume similar to the Earth’s volume, it would have a much smaller surface area; hence it would have a lower luminosity, for a given temperature, than another celestial object with a larger surface area. In this state, the white dwarf would cool in compliance with the Stefan-Boltzmann relation (for black bodies, such as stars, the rate of cooling is directly proportional to the star’s surface area and fourth power of the absolute surface temperature), diffusing its thermal energy into errant photons that would traverse the vacuum of outer space, becoming redshifted due to the accelerating expansion of the universe.

As a Marxist-Leninist and unlike the Christians, I have no Gospel: only a maudlin jeremiad that mourns the disintegration of the former socialist stats that collapsed in the late 1980s, not due to the inherent foibles of socialism, but due to the unremitting economic, political, and military belligerence, obstruction, and interference from the imperialist powers. Nonetheless, many former socialist states were successful in providing its citizens a comfortable material standard of living and an egalitarian social environment were all citizens were treated with respect and dignity. (See Stephen Gowans – “We Lived Better Then”.) The unappreciated accomplishments of the former socialist states are a testament of what is feasible under a regime that enshrines the physically well-being and security of its citizens, and belies the notion that socialism is merely an idealistic, utopian phantasm that cannot be practically implemented due to its alleged incompatibility with human nature. Furthermore, the geopolitical presence of a rival socialist superpower, the Soviet Union, moderated the merciless and exploitative predilections of the capitalist elite temporarily, both domestically and overseas, in order to show a false semblance of capitalism’s moral legitimacy, political tolerance, broadly shared economic prosperity, dynamic ingenuity, and benign nature, in order to discourage the domestic working class and unaligned sovereign nations from aligning with the communists. However, the fall of the socialist superpower removed any inhibitory constraints of capitalism and an extant alternative ideology; there is little need to conceal capitalism’s true barbaric nature.

My realism leads to short-term defeatism, although I do not experience absolute despair since there is hope that simultaneous resistance (although this resistance will likely be defensive in nature) from the victims of imperialism will overwhelm the military enforcement apparatus of the global neoliberal regime through the tactical adroitness of guerilla warfare that exploits the economically advantageous nature of asymmetrical warfare to incur disproportionate costs and causalities on a materially superior foe with a minimal expenditure of financial resources and personnel. This was part of Al-Qaeda's strategy for attacking the US: to elicit the US to be embroiled in a financially onerous war against technologically inferior and underfunded, yet tenacious resistance of the victims of imperialism. The victims of September 11th were merely collateral damage. As a Marxist-Leninist, I do not advocate a permanent "worldwide" revolution (unlike Trotskyists), particularly revolution in regions not conducive to revolution such as countries whose citizens have not experienced direct oppression, incurred significant costs from Western imperialism, nor possess a mentality sympathetic to revolution. Thus, I am realistic enough to know working to establish a Marxist-Leninist regime in the United States, either through electoral, bourgeois democracy; violent popular revolution; or coup, is a futile effort. While the possession of accurate information or proper political consciousness itself would not suffice to affect reality or the correct the injustices and misdistribution of resources of contemporary capitalism, there is nevertheless valuable in being personally emancipated, through education, from the establishment's pervasive delusions, lies, myths, and propaganda used to instill in the populace a passive acceptance of the ideals of the capitalism.

The Fall of Communism is the fall of the City of Man was the harbinger of a new epoch of cynicism, avarice, and chaos.

Yet I cannot find refuge and immigrate to the City of God due to my lack of faith in the existence of an anthropomorphic benevolent deity and rejection the claims of religious revelation because of its incompatibility with my empirical observations. But would not an omniscient deity sympathize with my honest epistemic obligation to reject blind faith and remain skeptical due to limitations in my knowledge, or is my insistence on exercising my mental faculties through the epistemological framework of empiricism, which may occlude my perception of God’s presence and his divine grace, a manifestation of pride that would condemn me to damnation? But religion does not have a monopoly on faith, since optimism in the progress of science and technology represents a faith promising the eventual salvation from the ailments of this world, just like the belief that Jesus’ incarnation, death, and purported Resurrection provides manumission from sin and death, while offering hope for eternal life with the Father. In order to maintain intellectual honesty, one has to make a concession acknowledging the alluring risk-reward proposition of religious faith. Against the contrast of the unfulfilling vapidity of material pursuits, isn’t better for one to accumulate treasures in Heaven instead of amassing fleeting assets on this world, even while discounting the possibility of eternal punishment? How can one resist the temptation of cynical nihilism when rejecting the promises of technology and religion?

The vision above emphasizes an atomistic view of salvation where can achieve a desirable telos (end/goal) of individual salvation in the next life by accepting God’s grace. Yet, this perspective neglects the transcendent role of a personal God who interacts with the contemporary terrestrial realm. Many faithful believe that God answers prayer and intercedes on their behalf through mundane, seemly coincidental events, but there are many prayers with a large proportion of them being unanswered and others appearing to be answered. Certainly, some of these prayers would inevitably appear answered due random events in one’s life that satisfy the request of the prayer, and a believer might use that to confirm a role for God in his/her daily life. However, that is not a valid inference since it ignores the effect of unanswered prayers and fails to consider the hypothesis that naturalistic explanations can explain the “answered” prayers. One would need something analogous to a Bonferroni correction.

Furthermore, the City of God is a community of believers, an emergent phenomenon that is more than the sum of its citizens. The faithful should not be content with attaining salvation for him/herself. but should interact with other believers in order to admonish, encourage, and edify, and unbelievers for evangelization. Evangelization should be opportunistic by targeting the receptive skeptics in an appropriate setting, while efficiently avoiding expending effort on pertinacious unbelievers. Such efforts should not solely consist of the castigation of unbelievers and promulgation of theological doctrine that would be perceived as self-righteous, but should also illuminate the sincerity, benevolence, and love of the faithful. Yet, while a faithful person may be benevolent, that person may be just a “benevolent” believer, where the adjective “benevolent” merely describes a personal characteristic of an individual believer but not a universal, distinguishing attribute for all believers. To the contrary, one can surely be a virtuous secularist who is not a hedonistic egotist who demonstrates a concern for others interests and acts altruistically. However, it is easy for one to dismiss the concept of Christian sovereign nation or a confederation of nations, embodying the City of God and acting for the greater glory of God, as opposed to acting on self-interested, secular balance of power consideration and Machiavellian political calculations. For instance, Cardinal Richelieu used his political acumen to advance France’s political and economic interests by opposing the hegemony of the Habsburg Holy Roman Empire.

[Black_Rose]

Whilst I have no problem with religious believers (I was raised a Catholic) I think that some other members will give you abuse from this post, just saying.

I am not ashamed of my current religious beliefs, even though I explicitly stated that I do not believe in the dogmas of the Church with my intellect. I am intellectually still a skeptic and empiricist.

[Zostrianos]

I do hope you reconsider your choice of possible religious path. There are much better paths than organized Christianity out there - Gnosticism, Hermetism, Neoplatonic mysticism just to name a few. I admire your fervour, but you might find a more fulfilling spirituality elsewhere. Then again I'm not you, so I may be wrong.

In any case, good luck.

[eyeheartlenin]

With all due respect, Black Rose, it's kind of strange to say, "I currently [am] not an orthodox Catholic (or Christian) since I do not believe ...," but you are taking on some Lenten discipline.

On top of which, you are a Marxist-Leninist, i.e., someone who is enthusiastic about Stalin, and yet you are in a "current flirtation with Roman Catholicism."

Upon reflection, it seems unlikely to me that anyone could just accept *a part* of either Christianity or Marxism-Leninism. They are, surely, two systems of convictions, each of which demands that one embrace all its tenets, and that utterly contradict each other, in important ways, certainly because one is theistic, and the other, atheistic.

I would have thought that militant atheism was a big feature in being a Marxist Leninist but in your post, you volunteer the fact that you have a "favorite Bible verse."

I just wonder why you are doing this, since, with all due respect, it appears to make no sense.

[Ostrinski]

have fun

[Black_Rose]

have fun
likewise

[9]

lol

[l'Enfermé]

Don't be silly. You're obviously an intelligent grown man. Historical materialism is irreconcilable with Christianity, being a Christian would exclude you from being a Marxist-anything. And why a sane person would flirt with that den of sodomy we call the Catholic Church is beyond me. Any study of the history of this vile religion would force any decent person to disassociate themselvse from it as much as possible. Why anyone would find this magical bullshit invented by some desert Jews a few thousand years ago a valid belief in the 21st century is beyond me...


I do hope you reconsider your choice of possible religious path. There are much better paths than organized Christianity out there - Gnosticism, Hermetism, Neoplatonic mysticism just to name a few. I admire your fervour, but you might find a more fulfilling spirituality elsewhere. Then again I'm not you, so I may be wrong.

In any case, good luck.

Gnosticism? Hermetism? Neoplatonic magic? Are you nuts? And you call yourself a Luxemburgist?

[black magick hustla]

god can suck my

[black magick hustla]

hey wtf god doesnt exist whats the point of this thread

[RGacky3]

Historical materialism is irreconcilable with Christianity, being a Christian would exclude you from being a Marxist-anything. And why a sane person would flirt with that den of sodomy we call the Catholic Church is beyond me. Any study of the history of this vile religion would force any decent person to disassociate themselvse from it as much as possible. Why anyone would find this magical bullshit invented by some desert Jews a few thousand years ago a valid belief in the 21st century is beyond me...


Historical Materialism has nothing to do with religion or faith or anything like that.

Marxism is generally taken to mena Marxian economics or sociology, which has nothing to do with theology. Apples and oranges.

[Veovis]

Once I gave up Catholicism for Lent.

[Le Libérer]

I have been getting down and dirty here in the dirty south (Louisiana where we do it right) and am rising from the ashes today. (If any of you noticed my disappearance, now you know)

Anyway, do whatever floats ya boat. I've been sinning so hard I dont know if a few ashes can make it all go away or not, but I'll give it a whirl.

And what am I giving up for Lent? Lint. ;)

[hatzel]

I'm giving up bacon for Lent. "But hatzel!" I hear you cry, "aren't you a) Jewish and b) vegan? You don't eat bacon anyway, and certainly don't mark Lent! What's going on here?" Legitimate question. But as far as I'm concerned I'm covering all my options here because I'm not actually going to be making any lifestyle changes for this Christian stuff, obviously, but if it does turn out that this Jesus guy's the Messiah or whatever, then I can be all "yo yo I didn't eat bacon over Lent, just like I said, I marked it. Good Christian, me, beam me up!" Clever, no? I ain't taking any chances...

[dodger]

"The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
God made them high or lowly,
And ordered their estate."

All things bright and beautiful, 19th century, the rarely sung last verse. If you are content to give God the last word, Rosa, as some do here in this most Popish of countries? I say some, one, I know, a priest has a 5m Peso price on his head and is in the hills. NPA , no permanent address--nice people to have around, some say. Another Priest, going about his pastoral duties, felled by "Death Squad", but a few months ago. I can;t believe they would relish singing the last verse either. Would anybody?

[Ocean Seal]

With all due respect, Black Rose, it's kind of strange to say, "I currently [am] not an orthodox Catholic (or Christian) since I do not believe ...," but you are taking on some Lenten discipline.

On top of which, you are a Marxist-Leninist, i.e., someone who is enthusiastic about Stalin, and yet you are in a "current flirtation with Roman Catholicism."

Upon reflection, it seems unlikely to me that anyone could just accept *a part* of either Christianity or Marxism-Leninism. They are, surely, two systems of convictions, each of which demands that one embrace all its tenets, and that utterly contradict each other, in important ways, certainly because one is theistic, and the other, atheistic.

I would have thought that militant atheism was a big feature in being a Marxist Leninist but in your post, you volunteer the fact that you have a "favorite Bible verse."

I just wonder why you are doing this, since, with all due respect, it appears to make no sense.
We are humans filled with contradictions.


hey wtf god doesnt exist whats the point of this thread
Its not about the existence of god, its about religious discipline which a member chooses to have. Its a curious feat.

[Franz Fanonipants]

god can suck my

bro literally any catholic who gets "upset" because of "blasphemy" is literally a child. like you.

[Franz Fanonipants]

i probably should give up things for lent, but i've been unobservant for a little too long recently. idk. maybe i should start to return to mass for lent.

[Sasha]

I am going to eat a capibara, just because the pope says I can...

[bots]

This thread makes me think about how I'm really a Marxist-Pessimist-Eschatological Thought and how I hope for Armageddon so I can fight with angels and Satan and shit. Also how since the collapse of socialism we're living in the end times and maybe soon we can devolve into savage tribes of marauders and get to rapturing. Thanks.

[Franz Fanonipants]

catholics don't believe in the rapture dummy

[Franz Fanonipants]

I am going to eat a capibara, just because the pope says I can...

i will go on a shark-only diet for forty days

[bots]

catholics don't believe in the rapture dummy

In the future we'll all be raptures and we'll hunt with our reptilian instincts and razor sharp hindfoot claws.

[hatzel]

In the future we'll all be raptures and we'll hunt with our reptilian instincts and razor sharp hindfoot claws.

Obvious primmie ban pls

[gorillafuck]

I'm giving up jerking off 10 times a day during lent I will only jerk off 9 times a day hope I can make it!

[Decolonize The Left]

This thread only makes me happier that I have absolutely no interest in anything religious or spiritual. The self-imposed resentment and guilt which is thrust upon the human animal by the religious ideal is nothing other than self-destructive and conceptually bunk.

I am genuinely sorry that people feel the need to arbitrarily impose limitations upon their experience because a book says so and, on top of this, they do this out of a feeling of necessity - that, somehow, something greater than them actually gives a fuck if they don't do something for a certain period of time.

I'm going to go to the bookstore, then I'm going to eat lunch. Then I'm going to go to work. Then I'm going to eat a second meal at work, which is free, then I'm going to go home and watch a movie with my girlfriend. I will feel very good throughout all this and I don't need scripture or the self-imposed absurdity of 'sacrifice' (which is totally ridiculous in this sense) to do so.

Cheers.

- August

[Ismail]

My mom and dad are Catholic, so we ate a fishburger rather than a hamburger today, but they don't do the "abstaining" stuff otherwise. That's about it.

Also as others have said, Marxism is quite incompatible with religious belief. Lenin noted that socialists are, "as a rule," atheists.

[Marquess]

I will proscribe personal access to RevLeft for Lent, with the exception of viewing this thread and limiting myself to one reply per day (in my timezone) with a minimum of 12 hours per new posts.

I will attend Mass tomorrow and limit myself to one meal.

As for me, my heart is currently warm as it yens to submit and yield to God with faith and humility, yet my intellect is cold since it finds little reliable empirical evidence to believe in God. My heart feels appreciative for Christ's kurushimi (suffering) and itami (pain), hears Him* calling to me, and wants to participate in the sacraments. Yet I currently not an orthodox Catholic (or Christian) since I do not believe (with my intellect) in the dogma such as the Resurrection, transubstantiation, Immaculate Conception, and Assumption. Nonetheless, if I do convert, it will be a slow process (for instance it took me about two years to become an M-L), and I feel it is necessary to demonstrate my sincerity and solemness to God through humility and austerity



* I am in a reverent mood today, so I will capitalize the personal pronoun of a hypostasis (person) of the Judeo-Christian deity.

My signature has nothing to do with my current religiosity; it is my favorite Bible verse, even before my current flirtation with Roman Catholicism.

I wouldn't listen to these guys.

If it truly makes you happy, then do it and best of luck to you.:thumbup1:

[workersadvocate]

Can we sacrifice the 1% and their junior partners for Lent?

[Franz Fanonipants]

lookit dis scrub

absurdity is all we are

[black magick hustla]

bro literally any catholic who gets "upset" because of "blasphemy" is literally a child. like you.

you dont know anything about catholicism you grew up in the us nerd, that shit aint real

[Franz Fanonipants]

you dont know anything about catholicism you grew up in the us nerd, that shit aint real

lol bro i got infracted for calling you a nerd

anyways its probably true but it doesn't make people who get hysterical about disrespecting churches, the pope, god, whatever any less children. god has no bones, thus does not belong to this world of bones.

[black magick hustla]

anyways its probably true but it doesn't make people who get hysterical about disrespecting churches, the pope, god, whatever any less children. god has no bones, thus does not belong to this world of bones.

blahblahblahblahblah look at me im a dumb grad student and make up my own brand of catholicism blahblahjblah, you smoke weed, troll nerd forums and read foucault and now you are a theologist.

[Franz Fanonipants]

blahblahblahblahblah look at me im a dumb grad student and make up my own brand of catholicism blahblahjblah, you smoke weed, troll nerd forums and read foucault and now you are a theologist.

are you asshurt cus i called you pathetic bro

its cool i still think you are rad, just a boring person

[black magick hustla]

are you asshurt cus i called you pathetic bro

its cool i still think you are rad, just a boring person

the prob. is that you think you have me pinned down as some nietzchean nihilist, amoral ubermensch or whatever but you are a moral simpleton and can't obviously grasp my complexity. :) but its ok bro, the people who didnt get physics thought it was boring

[Franz Fanonipants]

the prob. is that you think you have me pinned down as some nietzchean nihilist, amoral ubermensch or whatever but you are a moral simpleton and can't obviously grasp my complexity.

i don't think i have you pinned down as anything but a bay area-style mexican malinchista who moved to canada cus capitalism or whatever juvenile hand to forehead shit you say idk

wait i mean i do have that pinned down sorry it is because i am a moral simpleton

[black magick hustla]

i once looked up your ip address when i was a mod and i pinned down your university, dont remember which one was anymore and i looked at grad student profiles to see if i could find your identity. real detective work here

[Franz Fanonipants]

i once looked up your ip address when i was a mod and i pinned down your university, dont remember which one was anymore and i looked at grad student profiles to see if i could find your identity. real detective work here

thats scary

it would be scarier if i was connected to the dept in anything but the most tangential way and thank christ my department's digital shit sucks

[black magick hustla]

well it took me like 5 mins but i couldnt find u so i got bored srry

[Revolution starts with U]

Man id love to see that grad thesis

[Franz Fanonipants]

Man id love to see that grad thesis

you couldn't even read it cus u are a sub-literate cracker
/realtalk

[Franz Fanonipants]

well it took me like 5 mins but i couldnt find u so i got bored srry

note to self when accepted for phd stop posting on revleft

e: wait note to self stop posting on revleft.

[GoddessCleoLover]

Apparently for some internet flaming is not on the list of things from which to abstain during Lent.

[Franz Fanonipants]

we should have a peace of god too bad bmh is his own god

[black magick hustla]

note to self when accepted for phd stop posting on revleft

e: wait note to self stop posting on revleft.

I REMEMBER WHY I COULDNT FIND U, your school didnt do phds in history lol

[Franz Fanonipants]

I REMEMBER WHY I COULDNT FIND U, your school didnt do phds in history lol

its true bro terminal ma or bust i am too poor

[GoddessCleoLover]

He obviously wants to get a rise from you by posting that he used his then Mod powers to check out your identity. Perhaps the best policy would be disengagement until the Mods/Admin sort out the particulars?

[Franz Fanonipants]

He obviously wants to get a rise from you by posting that he used his then Mod powers to check out your identity. Perhaps the best policy would be disengagement until the Mods/Admin sort out the particulars?

eh i mean w/e what is he going to do, destroy me professionally by saying im a commie?

[black magick hustla]

He obviously wants to get a rise from you by posting that he used his then Mod powers to check out your identity. Perhaps the best policy would be disengagement until the Mods/Admin sort out the particulars?

not really, we are ebuddies, go away, gramsci sucks he was a stalinist traitor

[Franz Fanonipants]

im probably not gonna get my phd and just go on to become an overachieving "historian" ala keith windschuttle

[Omsk]

Write about Trotsky.Otsky.Tsky.Sky.

Yes,write about the sky.

[Franz Fanonipants]

Write about Trotsky.Otsky.Tsky.Sky.

Yes,write about the sky.

i wish i could thank this post more than once.

[GoddessCleoLover]

Oh, wow man. My buzz just got harshed. Antonio sucked AND he was a Stalinist traitor. Since this thread is more about religion than socialism perhaps it is fitting that it be derailed. I'm game. All good Marxists prefer latkes to hammentaschen, and anyone who prefers hammentaschen is a reactionary Trot.

[Pretty Flaco]

giving up revleft? that's not shit. you need to give up something hardcore for lent, like no sex or no breathing every other minute.

[GoddessCleoLover]

Would you rather give up latkes or hammantaschen for Lent?

[Omsk]

Priest: What hath yee abandoned fer Lord saviour Jheesus Christ?

Black Rose: I gave up a left-wing radical forum.

Priest: What

Black Rose: Did i mention i would support the USSR until 1953?

Priest: ... amhhg....

[Franz Fanonipants]

Priest: What hath yee abandoned fer Lord saviour Jheesus Christ?

Black Rose: I gave up a left-wing radical forum.

Priest: What

Black Rose: Did i mention i would support the USSR until 1953?

Priest: ... amhhg....

fucking with priests is my favorite shit. when i lived at the catholic worker there was some guy who was a high-level, non-parish diocesan figure. he would always be all "oh why don't i live in service like you catholic workers" and etc. and i remember telling him one time "father if you think this handwringing serves god i can tell you that your service here would be p. useless."

it owned.

some priests are ok, most suck. religious tend to be a lot better. but even then.

[Franz Fanonipants]

Would you rather give up latkes or hammantaschen for Lent?

i never liked latkes so take em lord

[gorillafuck]

I sense some sexual tension between bmh and franz fanonipants

[Franz Fanonipants]

I sense some sexual tension between bmh and franz fanonipants

well he did stalk me

[Rafiq]

I'm confused.

[hatzel]

i never liked latkes so take em lord

You used to be cool. That moment has now passed.

[Franz Fanonipants]

You used to be cool. That moment has now passed.

sorry bro idk i think its just the consistency. like if they are made more like hasbrowns and less like pancakes i think i would like them more. but i have only had them as pancake form.

[hatzel]

I might forgive you...

Wait isn't the whole point of that pancake day thing to get rid of all the eggs or something before Lent? No latkes for anybody, clearly!

[GoddessCleoLover]

They taste good with apple sauce.

[Franz Fanonipants]

I might forgive you...

Wait isn't the whole point of that pancake day thing to get rid of all the eggs or something before Lent? No latkes for anybody, clearly!

the pope is an italian fishmonger

[Misanthrope]

Happy Ash Wednesday

I honestly cannot believe Catholics believe in transubstantiation. I myself am officially a member of the Catholic church. I'm working on fixing that..

[Franz Fanonipants]

Happy Ash Wednesday

I honestly cannot believe Catholics believe in transubstantiation. I myself am officially a member of the Catholic church. I'm working on fixing that..

a Thing can be more than one Thing = a cornerstone of Western thought

[bots]

Well, I'm a catholic now

[Decolonize The Left]

a Thing can be more than one Thing = a cornerstone of Western thought

WHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA??????

A thing...

More....
than...

ONE thing....???????!!?!!!

But. how... can... it's already one thing... a thing... more than... itself?... western thought... one... cornerstone... aha!

Wait, no, you just suck.

- August

[TrotskistMarx]

Dear friend, the real problem of christianity is not Jesus and christianity. It is the right-wing capitalist christian churches. That's like socialism, the real problem of Socialism is not Karl Marx and socialism. It is those political socialist parties who apply neoliberal economic model when the rise to government power (Like the Socialist Workers Party of Spain) etc.

So from my own point of view, I think that the real problem of christianity is that the great majority of christian churches do not preach to its members the real socialist message of christianity.

In fact the philosopher Nietzsche wrote in the book "The Will to Power", that Jesus Christ and the first christians were the founders of socialism. If you think about socialism was founded by christian-religious utopian socialists and Karl Marx and F. Engels just converted religious christian socialism into political-economic socialism. In fact in James 5:1-8 it looks like if it was written by Karl Marx and Lenin. In those verses it says that the wealth of the rich really belongs to the working class. And that it is immoral and crime to be a rich, because that wealth really belongs to the working class the creators of wealth. That sounds a lot like Marxism

And I think that the real historical Jesus Christ and his disciples might have been like Che Guevara political revolutionaries, waging a revolution against The Roman Empire and the oligarchic status quo jews of their time.


Thanks


.



I will proscribe personal access to RevLeft for Lent, with the exception of viewing this thread and limiting myself to one reply per day (in my timezone) with a minimum of 12 hours per new posts.

I will attend Mass tomorrow and limit myself to one meal.

As for me, my heart is currently warm as it yens to submit and yield to God with faith and humility, yet my intellect is cold since it finds little reliable empirical evidence to believe in God. My heart feels appreciative for Christ's kurushimi (suffering) and itami (pain), hears Him* calling to me, and wants to participate in the sacraments. Yet I currently not an orthodox Catholic (or Christian) since I do not believe (with my intellect) in the dogma such as the Resurrection, transubstantiation, Immaculate Conception, and Assumption. Nonetheless, if I do convert, it will be a slow process (for instance it took me about two years to become an M-L), and I feel it is necessary to demonstrate my sincerity and solemness to God through humility and austerity



* I am in a reverent mood today, so I will capitalize the personal pronoun of a hypostasis (person) of the Judeo-Christian deity.

My signature has nothing to do with my current religiosity; it is my favorite Bible verse, even before my current flirtation with Roman Catholicism.

[TrotskistMarx]

You might like to create a christian-socialist party. Or a christian-marxist party. Che Guevara said that real christianity is very compatible with marxism. The ones that we have to blame and be angry against, is the catholic church, Bush, the Republican Party, the capitalist baptist churches, the capitalist evangelical churches of USA and all the fundamentalist zionist christian groups of America which preach a totally different message than the real christian-socialist liberation theology doctrine of Jesus Christ and the original first christians.

thanks

.



I am not ashamed of my current religious beliefs, even though I explicitly stated that I do not believe in the dogmas of the Church with my intellect. I am intellectually still a skeptic and empiricist.

[Franz Fanonipants]

WHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA??????

A thing...

More....
than...

ONE thing....???????!!?!!!

But. how... can... it's already one thing... a thing... more than... itself?... western thought... one... cornerstone... aha!

Wait, no, you just suck.

- August

you're doing it wrong

[Bostana]

I gave up Skyrim.

[Franz Fanonipants]

I gave up Skyrim.

highrim

i gave up facebook i guess idk

i should give up grad school for lent

[gorillafuck]

You might like to create a christian-socialist party. Or a christian-marxist party. Che Guevara said that real christianity is very compatible with marxism. The ones that we have to blame and be angry against, is the catholic church, Bush, the Republican Party, the capitalist baptist churches, the capitalist evangelical churches of USA and all the fundamentalist zionist christian groups of America which preach a totally different message than the real christian-socialist liberation theology doctrine of Jesus Christ and the original first christians.christianity goes against marxist philosophy though, even if collectivism is compatible with christianity. not saying I hate christians or consider "anti-theism" something marxists should actually care about or anything like that, but it's true.

and george w. bush had nothing to do with the development of christianity. the religious right in America existed well before him. GW actually seems a bit mild when compared to the moral majority or the people that used to head the religious right back when it was getting its start in the 1980's.

[Drosophila]

I gave up Skyrim.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQG7c-3u9SP1DUtqBDUBO2PFfQpiqC_D-r_XEi_OTC1fbqotYx7QBLJAizp

[Prometeo liberado]

I had a real hardcore Jesuit priest tell me once that it's not all about giving something up. Instead try and do things you rarely or ever do like helping the poor, visit people in jail, and of course pray more. It was Liberation Theology that got me started on the conversion road to communism. I still get goose bumps when I see a high mass though. Parts of the church are insanely beautiful but the negatives far out weigh the positives.

[Klaatu]

Why all this fuss about "God." Don't you know that we are all descendants of aliens? :p

[eyeheartlenin]

You might like to create a christian-socialist party. Or a christian-marxist party. Che Guevara said that real christianity is very compatible with marxism. The ones that we have to blame and be angry against, is the catholic church, Bush, the Republican Party, the capitalist baptist churches, ... which preach a totally different message than the real christian-socialist liberation theology doctrine of Jesus Christ and the original first christians....

Couple of things in response to this. It is interesting that TrotskistMarx's profile picture is of Chávez, who is given to talking about religion too, but, after Chávez' 12 years in office (wait, it must be 13 years by now), he has yet to expropriate the big bourgeoisie in Venezuela, which is still a bourgeois republic, with a market economy. Which, I would contend, is exactly where mixing Marxism up with religious belief leads to.

It is true that the first Christians were pacifists ("Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" Matthew 5:9, and, "if anyone [meaning a Roman imperial soldier, occupying first century Palestine] forces you to go with him one mile, go with him two miles" Matthew 5:41), and they "were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need" (Acts 2:44-45), but the days of primitive Christian pacifism and Christian communism were a very long time ago, and today, much, if not most, organized religion, certainly in the West, solidly defends existing property relations and can be counted on not to object too loudly to the US policy of permanent war against countries that can hardly defend themselves.

[hatzel]

It is interesting that TrotskistMarx's profile picture is of Chávez, who is given to talking about religion too, but, after Chávez' 12 years in office (wait, it must be 13 years by now), he has yet to expropriate the big bourgeoisie in Venezuela, which is still a bourgeois republic, with a market economy. Which, I would contend, is exactly where mixing Marxism up with religious belief leads to.

...and Marxism not 'mixed up' with religious belief has been such a roaring success smashing capitalism smashing the State or what are you getting at here? :confused:

Perhaps the problem with Venezuela isn't too much religion, but too much Marxism...?

[eyeheartlenin]

...and Marxism not 'mixed up' with religious belief has been such a roaring success smashing capitalism smashing the State or what are you getting at here? :confused:

Perhaps the problem with Venezuela isn't too much religion, but too much Marxism...?

With respect, I think Lenin's example in leading a revolution that established a workers' state strongly suggests that the more Marxism, the better. And the 1917 October Revolution was indeed a "roaring success" in toppling bourgeois rule.

The problem in Venezuela is that Chávez is simply a garden-variety power-hungry caudillo, a conventional military ruler, and very little else. Without smashing bourgeois rule, which is certainly not going to happen under Chávez' leadership, as the past 13 years have shown, the problems facing the Venezuelan workers and people cannot be solved; that's Marxism 101.

[hatzel]

With respect, I think Lenin's example in leading a revolution that established a workers' state strongly suggests that the more Marxism, the better. And the 1917 October Revolution was indeed a "roaring success" in toppling bourgeois rule.

I'm not entirely convinced by any of this, to be honest, but I don't think that's exactly the crux of the matter, so it needn't be discussed...


The problem in Venezuela is that Chávez is simply a garden-variety power-hungry caudillo, a conventional military ruler, and very little else. Without smashing bourgeois rule, which is certainly not going to happen under Chávez' leadership, as the past 13 years have shown, the problems facing the Venezuelan workers and people cannot be solved; that's Marxism 101.

I don't see what this has to do with the suggestion that mixing Marxism up with religious belief is the cause of Venezuela's seeming failure as a nominally socialist state. One doesn't appear to lead inevitably to the latter, and if the success of socialism hinges on the good will and decisions of this or that leader then the cause is already doomed. Is it not? Explaining why I wouldn't be convinced of the potential of those previous applications of Marxism (in fact I do not personally feel that Marxism was applied at all, hence the issue may instead be one of too much 'Marxism' and not enough Marxism) which resulted in precisely the same situation.

[Astarte]

I will proscribe personal access to RevLeft for Lent, with the exception of viewing this thread and limiting myself to one reply per day (in my timezone) with a minimum of 12 hours per new posts.

I will attend Mass tomorrow and limit myself to one meal.

As for me, my heart is currently warm as it yens to submit and yield to God with faith and humility, yet my intellect is cold since it finds little reliable empirical evidence to believe in God. My heart feels appreciative for Christ's kurushimi (suffering) and itami (pain), hears Him* calling to me, and wants to participate in the sacraments. Yet I currently not an orthodox Catholic (or Christian) since I do not believe (with my intellect) in the dogma such as the Resurrection, transubstantiation, Immaculate Conception, and Assumption. Nonetheless, if I do convert, it will be a slow process (for instance it took me about two years to become an M-L), and I feel it is necessary to demonstrate my sincerity and solemness to God through humility and austerity



* I am in a reverent mood today, so I will capitalize the personal pronoun of a hypostasis (person) of the Judeo-Christian deity.

My signature has nothing to do with my current religiosity; it is my favorite Bible verse, even before my current flirtation with Roman Catholicism.

I can understand your desire to take part in "devotional practices" as a means of attaining a higher state... Fasting is a common theme used among many global spiritual systems ... and also, I don't see what is wrong with abstaining from certain things for a certain amount of time to contemplate inwardly on things.

I would agree with Poimandres that there are better choices than Catholicism, but I doubt you will be sucked in by the Church's dogma as you seem like a skeptic already, and almost seem to be approaching the taking part in Lent as an experiment.

I mean, I never practiced Lent growing up, but its just fasting really, whats the big deal ... its not like you're self-flaggelating.

[eyeheartlenin]

I wrote:


With respect, I think Lenin's example in leading a revolution that established a workers' state strongly suggests that the more Marxism, the better. And the 1917 October Revolution was indeed a "roaring success" in toppling bourgeois rule.

and Hatzel replied:


I'm not entirely convinced by any of this, to be honest, but I don't think that's exactly the crux of the matter, so it needn't be discussed...

A question for Hatzel, If you do not think that a revolution occurred in Russia in November 1917, then why are you on a forum with leftists?

As far as Chávez and religion is concerned, at the end of the documentary, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Chávez invites right-wing coup plotters, who had arrested Chávez as part of their 2002 coup attempt, to reconciliation (a concept imported from religion), something he did more than once, and, in December 2007, consistent with Chávez' belief in reconciliation, he issued a pardon covering more than 60 of the participants in the coup. A couple of years ago, I read that not a single one of the coup plotters was ever imprisoned. Calling for reconciliation with violent counter-revolutionaries, instead of prosecuting them and locking them up, represents a suicidal illusion. So, yeah, religion has had a deforming effect on Chávez' politics.

[Le Libérer]

This thread only makes me happier that I have absolutely no interest in anything religious or spiritual.
- August

And what does G-d have to do with religious ritual? I never said nothing about no G-d. :blink:

[Le Libérer]

This thread only makes me happier that I have absolutely no interest in anything religious or spiritual.
- August

And what does G-d have to do with religious ritual?

In fact, I bought an Easter dress.

[Partizanac]

This is good. Living the way the poorest of our world live at least once a year gives insight into their plight and the need for us to increase the ferocity of our struggle.


Best wishes.

[Decolonize The Left]

And what does G-d have to do with religious ritual?

In fact, I bought an Easter dress.

It's an interesting point, one which my girlfriend and I often discuss. She adopts your perspective that a ritual is just a ritual and doesn't require any religious connotations to be fun and/or magical.

I guess I'm just far more jaded by the whole thing?

- August

[Franz Fanonipants]

i gave up listening to kanye for lent

this is a lie as i could never give up listening to kanye

[Le Libérer]

It's an interesting point, one which my girlfriend and I often discuss. She adopts your perspective that a ritual is just a ritual and doesn't require any religious connotations to be fun and/or magical.


- August

Exactly. I've been attending an african-american baptist church (http://vimeo.com/32975487)because the music is so damn good. Better than a rock concert. In fact, I was the guest of Brian Blade and the Fellowship band (http://youtu.be/lspO0yqu9Ik)3 weeks ago. Man alive, it was amazing!

Thats where I will be wearing my hot pink and black Easter Dress, pink fascinator, and pink heels.

Theres some fabulous hats in that church.

[Le Libérer]

It's an interesting point, one which my girlfriend and I often discuss. She adopts your perspective that a ritual is just a ritual and doesn't require any religious connotations to be fun and/or magical.

I guess I'm just far more jaded by the whole thing?

- August

Speaking of.....
Have you seen Alan deBottons Ted speak on atheism 2.0 (http://www.ted.com/talks/alain_de_botton_atheism_2_0.html)? Its addresses this subject beautifully.

[Ele'ill]

Exactly. I've been attending an african-american baptist church (http://vimeo.com/32975487)because the music is so damn good.

Yup, this. Music is one of the only good/meaningful memories I have of churches.

[Black_Rose]

I am back...

BTW, I feel more closer to God and more spiritual now than during the start of Lent. I still attend Mass every week.

Here is a song that captures my current mood (although it is secular):

x3IJddmlrAs

[Goblin]

da fok is lent?

[Kotze]

Welcome back.

[Drosophila]

I always think of Yu Gi Oh music when I want to become closer to God

[Black_Rose]

I always think of Yu Gi Oh music when I want to become closer to God

I liked the 5D's (the Japanese version) anime though; Yusei Fudo's character seems quite suave, sincere, and savvy. But I understand that is is fairly unusual for someone my age to appreciate it. BTW, I cannot stand the new series with Tsukumo Yuma.

It's a good song, quite passionate and emotional, although I do not know enough Japanese to fully appreciate it as I cannot understand the lyrics without the subs. Listen to the song, it most certainly isn't religious, and ignore its association with the anime.

Masaaki Endoh does good vocals!

[Yefim Zverev]

I will proscribe personal access to RevLeft for Lent, with the exception of viewing this thread and limiting myself to one reply per day (in my timezone) with a minimum of 12 hours per new posts.

I will attend Mass tomorrow and limit myself to one meal.

As for me, my heart is currently warm as it yens to submit and yield to God with faith and humility, yet my intellect is cold since it finds little reliable empirical evidence to believe in God. My heart feels appreciative for Christ's kurushimi (suffering) and itami (pain), hears Him* calling to me, and wants to participate in the sacraments. Yet I currently not an orthodox Catholic (or Christian) since I do not believe (with my intellect) in the dogma such as the Resurrection, transubstantiation, Immaculate Conception, and Assumption. Nonetheless, if I do convert, it will be a slow process (for instance it took me about two years to become an M-L), and I feel it is necessary to demonstrate my sincerity and solemness to God through humility and austerity



* I am in a reverent mood today, so I will capitalize the personal pronoun of a hypostasis (person) of the Judeo-Christian deity.

My signature has nothing to do with my current religiosity; it is my favorite Bible verse, even before my current flirtation with Roman Catholicism.

u serious bro ?

[Black_Rose]

u serious bro ?


It already happened. You could look at my posting record since Ash Wednesday to confirm that I didn't post here.

[La Comédie Noire]

I told you religion was reactionary.

[Decolonize The Left]

Speaking of.....
Have you seen Alan deBottons Ted speak on atheism 2.0 (http://www.ted.com/talks/alain_de_botton_atheism_2_0.html)? Its addresses this subject beautifully.

I don't have time at the moment to watch the TED talk, but here's aspects of religion that I incorporate into my life:

LnTffUu-8w4

M_LLFfFXaUA

- August

[Yefim Zverev]

It already happened. You could look at my posting record since Ash Wednesday to confirm that I didn't post here.

cool story bro